PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) Short Interest Up 24.4% in March

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,500,000 shares, an increase of 24.4% from the March 15th total of 2,010,000 shares. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 563,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp reduced their target price on PROG from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PROG from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of PROG from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of PROG in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.83.

PROG Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of PRG stock traded up $0.44 on Friday, reaching $25.40. The company had a trading volume of 154,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 542,827. The company has a 50-day moving average of $27.20 and a 200-day moving average of $38.72. PROG has a 12 month low of $23.50 and a 12 month high of $50.28. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a current ratio of 5.24, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

PROG (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.08. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The company had revenue of $684.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $678.23 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that PROG will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is an increase from PROG's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. PROG's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.45%.

Insider Transactions at PROG

In related news, Director Douglas C. Curling purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.88 per share, for a total transaction of $298,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 45,913 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,880.44. This trade represents a 27.85 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu purchased 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.01 per share, with a total value of $46,216.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,291 shares in the company, valued at $512,330.91. This represents a 9.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.21% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PROG

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of PROG by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 779,716 shares of the company's stock worth $32,951,000 after purchasing an additional 209,805 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in PROG by 2,008.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 178,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,546,000 after purchasing an additional 170,080 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in PROG by 170.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 248,964 shares of the company's stock worth $10,521,000 after buying an additional 157,006 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PROG in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,093,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of PROG by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,564,441 shares of the company's stock worth $108,373,000 after acquiring an additional 134,123 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.92% of the company's stock.

About PROG

PROG Holdings, Inc NYSE: PRG is a financial technology holding company based in Salt Lake City, Utah with three business segments: Progressive Leasing, which offers lease-to-own transactions primarily to credit-challenged consumers through e-commerce and point-of-sale retail partners, via online, mobile, and in-store solutions; Vive Financial, which provides consumers who may not qualify for traditional prime lending with a variety of second-look, revolving credit products through private label and branded credit cards; and Four Technologies, which provides consumers of all credit backgrounds Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options through four interest-free installments via its platform, Four.